Film shows parents how to spot autism

Wednesday

Mar 24, 2010 at 12:01 AMMar 24, 2010 at 8:25 AM

It took months for Aimee and John Mury to get their daughter Eliza diagnosed as autistic, and the experience left Aimee Mury frustrated. Rather than get angry, she wanted to do something to help other parents of autistic children.

Charlie Breitrose

It took months for Aimee and John Mury to get their daughter Eliza diagnosed as autistic, and the experience left Aimee Mury frustrated. Rather than get angry, she wanted to do something to help other parents of autistic children.

She came up with the idea of putting together something to show on YouTube, and asked her neighbor Zadi Zokou, a filmmaker, if he could help her do so. Zokou said he could do even better. The final product of their collaboration, a film called "Eliza, My Songbird," debuts at Morse Institute Library in Natick on Sunday.

The Murys had heard of autism, but they said, like many people, they did not know what it really looked like.

"I thought she had a speech delay, like my son," Aimee Mury said.

When Eliza, now 5, was not speaking at age 20 months, her mother became concerned and asked for help finding out what was wrong. An expert came to observe Eliza, and after an evaluation, the Murys were told she had a speech delay.

After a few months, however, nothing changed.

She said the autism may have gone undiagnosed even longer if not for some people who attend Beacon Community Church, where John is pastor.

"Some people at the church who are occupational therapists who work with kids with Asperger's - which is a mild form of autism - both looked at Eliza and said there are definitely signs (of autism)," John Mury said.

After the autism diagnosis was confirmed, Aimee Mury said she looked back at the reports from the first observations of her daughter and the signs were clear, she just had not known what to look for.

"I went through a huge learning experience, at (Eliza's) expense," Aimee Mury said. "I said I can stay angry, or I can teach people by showing them what we went through."

The Murys have lived next to the Zokous for several years. Zokou learned about filmmaking in his native Ivory Coast, where he started as an actor and later became a screenwriter and filmmaker.

He left the country when there was some political unrest.

Zokou works at Neiman Marcus so he has a regular paycheck, but he said his love is making films. He made one film about the difficulty of riding bicycles in Natick, as part of a project for a course he took at Mass. College of Art.

He took on the autism project and ended up with a 30-minute film aimed at educating parents on how to look for the signs.

"The focus is education," Zokou said. "Everybody needs to know about autism."

Eliza did not show the signs that many people expect to see. "She was not hyperactive or spinning in the corner," Aimee Mury said.

Also, some autistic people do not like being touched. Eliza will seek out contact. She does not understand social boundaries, however.

"She will walk up to strangers at the mall and sit on their laps," John Mury said.

Some of the other signs of autism they spotted in Eliza's behavior, include:

- She would not respond to her name.

- She would not show her parents things, such as her toys.

- She would not notice people entering or leaving a room.

- She would not point to things, or understand when people point to something.

Zokou said he is thankful for the help of the Murys and others.

"Many people have this issue, but they hold it in," Zokou said. "(Aimee) has the courage to share her story and share how she's living."

He also got a lot of help from people at Natick Pegasus, the local cable access channel. They gave him tips about what equipment to buy, how to use the equipment and they assisted with the editing.

Zokou plans to focus on autism for his next two films. First he'd like to follow Eliza, to show the progress she has made. Then, he would like to return to Africa and do a film about autism in his country or a neighboring one.

"Eliza, My Songbird" will be shown Sunday at Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central St., Natick, at an event sponsored by the Autism Alliance of MetroWest. The event begins at 3 p.m. and is free to the public. After the film, a discussion will be held.

MetroWest Daily News writer Charlie Breitrose can be reached at 508-626-3964 or cbreitro@cnc.com.